Media Assistant to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinkainvestigated by police over allegations of unauthorized disclosure of voter data obtained from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.
According to TheCable, Olayinka was reportedly interrogated on Tuesday at the police headquarters in the FCT by Division of Intelligence-Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) operatives as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged cyber-related offenses.
According to sources familiar with the case, the investigation focuses on allegations of cyber violations, unauthorized access to sensitive databases and the alleged circulation of classified national documents.
In the same development, a yet-to-be-identified electoral official was detained at the FID-IRT facility in Abuja in connection with the case.
Investigators said the case followed a formal petition filed on behalf of INEC, which accused those involved of criminal conspiracy, online harassment and leaking of banned documents.
How the incident started
The controversy stems from a post Olayinka made on Xu (formerly Twitter), where he shared screenshots purportedly showing the transfer of Nollywood actor Emeka Ike’s voter registration from Imo State to the National Capital Territory.
In the post, he questioned the suitability of the actor-turned-politician to contest for the FCT House of Representatives seat, following Ike’s recent protest over the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries.
The publication sparked a public backlash, with many Nigerians claiming that Olayinka may have accessed INEC’s password-protected back-end system that is not accessible to the public.
INEC reacts to the allegations
INEC later responded, dismissing suggestions that its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database had been hacked or widely compromised.
The commission clarified that the incident was the result of the alleged misuse of credentials for legitimate access by an authorized person, and not an external breach.
Contact between INEC officials and Olayinka
Sources further revealed that the electoral officer involved allegedly contacted Olayinka to provide what was described as “evidence” showing that Emeka Ike only recently applied for voter transfer, which has not yet been approved.
The official allegedly reached Olayinka through Facebook Messenger and later shared the document through WhatsApp.
During questioning, Olayinka reportedly stated that he had no prior relationship with the INEC official and was unaware that the document was confidential or restricted.
He also claimed that he was not informed that the information was privileged at the time it was shared.
Investigation underway
In addition to the police investigation, the Department of State Services (DSS) is also reportedly investigating the incident.
Security sources indicate that the Nigerian Police Force is considering possible charges including criminal conspiracy, cyber offences, unlawful disclosure of classified information and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.
